A New Destiny
by Speeder6
Summary: Ash had just participated in the Sinnoh league, and headed back to Solaceon to see an old friend of his. However, his journey might lead him down an unexpected path. Contains MorpheusShipping.
1. A New Beginning

It had been five days since the end of the Sinnoh league, and Ash was travelling back to Twinleaf town to drop off Dawn. The trees anlong the side of the path shaded him from the sun as he strolled on the path with his trusted partners. Ash had recently competed in the Sinnoh league and was contemplating what had happened. The exciting events of those past days were now behind him as he continued in his journey as a pokemon trainer.

"Argh, I was so close," Ash moaned, "just a little more and I would have won. I know my pokemon tried their hardest, but I wish I could have given that little bit more."

"Come on, I mean, a draw against Cynthia is awesome against anybody's standards," Dawn replied

"And remember, Paul challenged you the next day and you won by miles, you have to be happy about that. Losing none of your pokemon and defeating all six of his sure was amazing," Brock added.

The mention of Paul's defeat did bring a smile to Ash's face while he walked along Route 210. He thought of all his pokemon who had been with him though his journey in Sinnoh and how they had grown with him during this time. He had gained so much experience in his travels through Sinnoh, and as he kept going along the path he remembered how he had enjoyed it all.

"I sure am happy about that, but… he didn't do his best, something was wrong when we battled; he seemed, agitated," he paused, "but anyway, thanks everyone, for everything," said Ash.

* * *

About one hundred yards way, Team Rocket were hiding in some bushes, spying on the group that they had followed throughout all of Sinnoh.

"So, what's the plan today Meowth?"

"I don't know Jessie, the twerps just did a whole lot, and I don't know if we should really try anything today," James said quietly.

"He kinda has a point y'know" added Meowth.

"WHAT? A perfect chance to steal Pikachu and you just let it pass by? You two are just _softies_ aren't you?" shouted Jessie, clearly infuriated by her partners.

"If someone attacked you after a bad hair day, you wouldn't be too happy, would you?" James stated.

Suddenly, Jessie fell quiet, as if someone had just explained hell to her. James and Meowth waited nervously to see what Jessie would now say.

"I guess you're right," she whispered, still dazed by the comment, "let's leave them be for now."

James and Meowth let out a sigh of relief as they watched 'the twerps' walk off into the distance, instead of blasting off like they normally do.

The trio of trainers had decided to return Dawn home first. After narrowly losing to Zoey in the Grand Festival, she had wanted to return home to see her mother before either moving on or waiting for the next festival. Her defeat, albeit narrow had only made her stronger and more determined than ever. Although before she would return home, Ash had been invited by Angie's parents to a celebration at the Day care Centre in Solaceon town, where a certain young trainer was about to get a huge shock.

* * *

"What? Ash is coming here and you didn't tell me?" Angie said, with a tone of shock.

"We invited him just after his Sinnoh League challenge, and you never asked about it," Angie's mother replied

"We thought that he would like to celebrate here so we invited him. He should be arriving any day now." Angie's father added, quite amused by his daughter's reaction to the situation.

"Mom… Dad…" said Angie, a look of terror appeared in her eyes.

Angie started to panic. '_He'll be arriving any day now, but what could we talk about?'_ she thought. '_Sure we could talk about his league challenge, but then what? Will he want to talk about it? Why is this happening now? All this time and I only have one day. If only I had more time. Dialga, please, help me out here.' _

"Shinx shinx?" the little pokemon beside her asked.

"Don't worry Shinx, I'll be fine."

Angie proceeded to go to her room, her mind filled with a plethora of worries and concerns. She had always wanted him to return, but a little more notice would have been nice. She closed the door behind her and jumped onto her bed with Shinx following her.

"Oh Shinx," she sighed, "It's pretty obvious that me and Ash are friends now, but can he see more than that in me? I mean, I can still remember the time where he saved me from that creepy girl."

"Shinx," agreed Shinx as Angie shuddered.

"He said that he would never let go, even if it meant forever. Forever. Ash is special for sure, but was his reason behind saying that just because we were friends?" Angie stared at the ceiling with thoughtful eyes, for what awaited her the next day, she couldn't tell.

* * *

Ash and friends soon arrived at a pokemon centre, the last one before reaching Solaceon town. As they drew close, Brock looked up at the sky. Stars were starting to appear, illuminating the dark blue above

"It's getting quite dark now; it looks like we'll have to stay here for the night so we can get to Solaceon town tomorrow."

"Aww man…" Ash groaned.

"What's the rush? We don't _need_ to get there for any reason, so why the long face?" asked Dawn.

"I don't know, I was just, looking forward to seeing Angie again."

"No need to worry, we'll leave early tomorrow so we can get there by at least midday, is that okay with you Brock?"

"Sure, but make sure you two hold true to your part of the deal okay?"

"Count on it!" Ash replied.

* * *

Later on, Ash was getting ready for bed, but not actually changing so as to get a head start on the next day. As he was about to sit down, Pikachu ran up to him and jumped onto his shoulder.

"Pika pika, pika pi chu ka-pi pika?"

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to tomorrow, I just can't wait," Ash stated as he sat down, "it's been too long since I last saw Angie. I wonder if Dialga could help speed up time." Ash sighed as he finished preparing his bag for the next day and put it aside.

"Pikachu, ka-chu pika ka?" asked Pikachu

"Do I like Angie? Well of course, she is my friend you know Pikachu," Ash answered confusedly.

"Pika…" said Pikachu, obviously not amused by this answer.

"Well," yawned Ash, "I should get some rest so I can walk there faster tomorrow. Good-night Pikachu." Ash said as he lay down, yawning.

"Pika pi," replied pikachu as they both fell asleep.

Little did they know that the young girl they were going to meet was not having an early night like them.

* * *

Angie was now sitting by a lake, with a sky filled with stars above her, and the shimmering water of the lake in front. The wind passed softly through her hair, and did not disturb the peace of the lake. With her was her faithful companion, Shinx, who now had turned to its trainer, concerned for her feelings.

"Shinx, shinx shinx."

"Thanks Shinx, but I guess tomorrow has to come doesn't it? It looks like Ash will arrive tomorrow and that's settled." A small smile appeared on Angie's face as she looked up to the stars, "I'm… I'm so happy that Ash is coming here. I've never really though about it before but… do you think destiny exists Shinx?"

Shinx just looked on at its trainer, caringly.

"I just wonder you know. I've always lived life at the centre tackling things head on, but this feels, different. But why?"

Shinx proceeded to jump into Angie's lap, "Shinx, shinx shinx shinx."

"Thanks Shinx, thanks."

As they looked on, a shining object appeared in the night sky, glowing brightly as it went. While it was doing so, Angie closed her eyes and made a wish.


	2. A Reunion of Friends

The sun rose on a new day, bringing light to the people of Sinnoh. The new day meant new situations and new opportunities, and Ash of Pallet town knew this well. He had awoken very early that day, and along with his companions, set out towards his next destination: Solaceon town.

"Come on, come on, come on," Ash said quickly, "hurry up."

The three trainers had now gathered in front of the pokemon centre, although Brock and Dawn hadn't exactly woken up yet. Ash's determination had meant that even though the sun had hardly risen, he was ready and raring to go, which was more than could be said about his companions.

"We're coming Ash," said Dawn, putting on her hat, "seriously though, why do you need to get there so quickly?"

"I just love seeing my friends if I haven't seen them for a while, is that such a problem?" Ash replied.

Off to the side, there was a look on Brocks face as if he'd just realised something.

"No, no I guess not," said Dawn, rubbing her eyes wearily.

"So let's go then. Last one there is a rotten exeggute."

Dawn and Brock just sighed as they watched Ash sprint off, and then walked after him. They were simply too tired to bother chasing him and felt he could go there by himself anyway. Although as they were walking, there was a faint smile on Brock's face.

* * *

At the Day Care centre, Angie had also awoken very early, but her reason for not sleeping was quite different from Ash's. It was more a matter of not being able to sleep rather than choosing not to, as her anxiety concerning the next day had gotten the better of her. Knowing that Ash wouldn't waste any time getting to her house, she got dressed and completed her normal chores early in the morning. After this, she went into her kitchen to have breakfast. While she was eating, her mother entered the room.

"I wonder why you got up so early, especially as Ash will be arriving today," her mother said teasingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" replied Angie with a hint of aggression in her voice.

"Oh, nothing dear," her mother laughed.

"But seriously mom," Angie said, "please, please don't go saying anything like that when he's here." Angie now had a look of desperation in her eyes.

"Don't worry dear, your father and I won't say anything too obvious."

"That isn't what I asked," Angie said, now pleading, "you just can't."

Her mother just sat there, drinking her coffee with a small smile on her face. Angie then decided to leave the house and wait outside.

"Why do parents have to be so evil?" she muttered to herself as she walked into her front garden.

The sun had just risen over the horizon now, and Angie could feel the morning breeze brush past her face. As she stared down the road, she knew that sooner rather than later, the boy that she had met not so long ago would appear there. She only had to wait a few minutes until something moving extremely fast appeared on the horizon. In fact, it was almost going as fast as a jet plane.

'_What is that,'_ she thought_, 'and why do I get the feeling I'll be finding out very soon?'_

Before she knew it, 'that' was right beside her and it turned out to be just what she had been waiting for.

"Hey Angie," said Ash, getting down from his Garchomp.

"Ash, it's been too long," she said, still amazed at the Garchomp that stood beside her

"Hasn't it just, there's so much to catch up on," Ash replied eagerly.

"And Ash, this must be your Garchomp, the one I saw you use against the elite four."

The truth was, Angie hadn't been able to go to actually see Ash compete, so she had watched his matches on the television. She remembered how it was his Garchomp versus Cynthia's in the final match of his Sinnoh league challenge, and how it was that result that ended the match in a draw.

"The very same," Ash replied proudly, "although I still can't believe how awesome he was throughout all of my league challenge."

Garchomp smiled at this, happy at being praised by its trainer who had raised it from a Gible. Also, Pikachu (who had been watching all this from Ash's shoulder) now jumped down to meet Shinx who had been waiting with Angie.

"Pika pi," Pikachu said as it greeted Shinx.

"Shinx shinx," replied Shinx.

"I guess those two haven't seen each other in a while either" Ash said while he scratched his head.

"I guess not," Angie repeated, copying Ash, "by the way, where are Brock and Dawn, I thought that they were travelling with you?"

"They did come with me, but they were being to slow so I came with Garchomp to meet you here. They should be along in a while."

"Well you're here now, so why don't we wait inside for your friends?" asked Angie.

"Sure," Ash nodded, "Garchomp, thanks for the ride."

Ash returned Garchomp to its pokeball as the two trainers headed inside.

'_Phew, this isn't as bad as I thought,' _Angie thought to herself, '_I'm glad he is still his regular, kind self and all. He's such a nice person, and he's good to everyone too, well, except from Paul, but he has good reason for that. Anyway, I just hope the rest of the day stays like this'._

Unfortunately for Angie, the day was not going to stay as it had been so far. In fact, their day would take a turn for the worse, due to a small team who just happened to be spying on them from a nearby bush.

"Can we attack them now?" Jessie sneered

"My moral conscience is clear, how about you Meowth?" James turned to Meowth.

"As clear as a crystal, let's get stealin'," Meowth said with a glint in his eye.

"I have no idea where the other two are, but it appears that only Ash and the academy twerpette are here at the moment," James stated

"That's perfect, less of them to meddle with our plans."

"We'll nab us some pokemon before you can say 'we're gonna be rich.'"

"Right!" the three of them said in unison.

Back in Angie's house, the two young trainers had decided to sit down in the living room. For a few minutes, they talked like best friends to one another, filling in the gap of time that had seperated them, but just as they had started to talk, Angie's mother came into the room.

"Oh Ash, how nice to see you again," she said.

"Well, thank you for inviting me here Mrs. … erm… err…," Ash had stood up and was now quite embarrassed, "I'm sorry, but what's your surname?"

"Why it's Aoi, and I'm sure that you'll want to know a lot more about our family for the future, yes?" Mrs. Aoi answered with a devilish smile before leaving the room and a confused Ash.

"What was that all about?" asked a puzzled Ash

"Oh, nothing, she's just weird like that," Angie replied, sighing to herself.

"Never mind, let's just get back to talking."

They did just that. They continued filleing each other in on what had happened in the short time they had been apart. They told one another of the hardships they had faced, the fun times they had had, and of those they had met. For a long time, they listened intently to the other's tales, taking in what was said. It wasn't until a while later that they were rudely interrupted.

"Did you her something?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I think it came from the back" Angie answered as they went to investigate.

Suddenly, a huge crash was heard, followed by the sound of a shrill voice. They ran to see what it was, and when they arrived they weren't all that surprised. The usual suspects from Team Rocket were standing there infront of them. James was lugging a huge bag of pokeballs behind him while the other two were just watching

"James, don't be so clumsy or they'll …"Jessie started before she saw who had arrived, but then she turned around, "so you found us stealing the pokeballs, eh twerps?"

"Give those back, they aren't yours," Ash and Angie shouted in unison.

"Make us!" Meowth shouted back as he pressed a button on a remote.

Before you could blink, a gigantic robot crashed down from the sky almost crushing those who stood there. There was a flash as Team Rocket jumped into there robot and dumped the pokeballs they had stolen into it.

"Is that the sound of two twerps I hear?"

"It is to me, loud and clear."

"On the wind…" the trio of thieves began

"Do you always have to put up with them and their motto?" Angie whispered to Ash

"Almost always," he sighed.

Angie turned back to the trio.

"Are you three clowns done yet?" Angie yelled.

"How rude!" Jessie retorted "we weren't finished but I guess we'll just leave now then."

"Oh no you don't," Ash said, "Pikachu, try thunderbolt."

Pikachu fired an intense thunderbolt, but it hardly damaged the machine at all.

"Ha ha, your Pikachu's attacks won't do a thing to our robot," Meowth laughed.

Ash winced as his attacks were not doing anything, but a small blue pokemon ran up to Pikachu to lend its strength.

"Okay Shinx, help Pikachu out," ordered Angie.

Shinx stood by Pikachu, and after charging, fired off an electrical charge that almost doubled Pikachu's power.

"Hey, hey wait a second, we can't take this," Meowth said in a panic.

"Meowth, I thought you said we could take an electrical attack," Jessie stated.

"One on its own maybe, but two attacks is a different story, especially with these two."

"So does that mean…" James said bluntly.

The robot exploded.

"We're blasting off again." they shouted as they flew off into the distance. A faint sound of a Wobbuffet could be heard before Team Rocket disappeared.

The force of the explosion pushed Shinx back into Angie, and in turn Angie into Ash, who managed to catch her and bring her so that she was resting on him whilst he was kneeling down.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked with a great amount of care.

It was at this point when Angie's parents ran through the door to find Ash and Angie there together.

"Well what happened here?" Angie's mother said with a sly tone.

Angie quickly jumped to her feet and blushed heavily due what her parents had just seen.

"Team Rocket just appeared, and they tried to steal the pokemon, and they almost crushed us, and… and…" Angie tried to explain

"Angie," Ash interrupted, "are you okay?"

It was at this point that a smile appeared on the faces of Angie's parents. Angie turned to face Ash.

"Ash… I'm fine," she said slowly and quietly, looking him in the eyes.

After this they all went inside to talk about what had just happened. Mr and Mrs Aoi listened closely as the two young people before them explained Team Rocket's attempted theft.

* * *

A while later, after they all had dinner (and an inevitable eating contest between Ash and Angie) Brock and Dawn arrived, surprised at how much they had missed.

"So Ash, what happened?" Dawn asked.

"Just Team Rocket up to their usual antics," he replied with a smile, "but Angie and I sure showed them didn't we?"

"Yeah, you were awesome today," Angie nodded.

"Angie, _we _were awesome. I couldn't have done it without your help you know."

"Thanks Ash," she said, twiddling her thumbs.

The sun had now set on Ash's first day with Angie, A day filled with joy and excitement. Now the whole group had arrived, more days of happiness were sure to follow. Ash who had just been crowned joint champion decided to stay with Angie in Solaceon town for a while, for more adventures and possibly for other reasons. Although, Ash and Angie's interactions hadn't gone completely unnoticed.

* * *

"Well dear, they're all asleep now, so what was it you wanted to say?" Angie's father asked.

"I'm sure you noticed our daughter today, yes?" his wife replied

"Of course, but do you think it was right we didn't step in when those crooks came, and that we let those two get rid of them?"

"Well you saw what happened; those two are just perfect together."

"Just like us when we were younger then," he said as he smiled.

"Yes, and we also know that he cares for Angie, thanks to that little episode earlier."

"It's only a matter of time then."

"My thoughts exactly dear," she said, "my thoughts exactly."


	3. Tag Battle Trial

"Well good morning sleepy-head," Ash said as he looked down at the sleeping female before him.

"Huh? Five more minutes mom," Angie replied wearily from underneath her bed covers.

"Erm, Angie, I'm not your mom you know," Ash smirked.

"Then who ar…" Angie opened her eyes and looked up, "aaah, Ash!"

Angie suddenly went bright red, surprised and embarrassed to have Ash in her room, especially when she was in her pyjamas.

"It's alright, it's just me, and why are you all red, do you have a fever or something? Because I've planned something for today." Ash said as he tried to calm Angie down.

"Really? Well that sounds great Ash, I'll be ready soon," Angie replied.

"I'll wait downstairs for you, okay?" Ash said eagerly.

"You won't have to wait long," Angie answered.

Ash left her room and closed the door behind him. After he did, Angie sighed with relief and slunk back down into her bed.

'_Ash sure is special, coming here to see me early in the morning like that,' _she thought to herself_, 'I wonder what he has planned.'_

The day had started with a pleasant surprise for Angie, with Ash visiting her early in the morning. The scene had been set for a new and exciting day, with everyone rested and ready for any challenges that they would face. In fact, what Ash had planned would provide everyone involved with a huge challenge, but only time could tell what was going to happen to the young pokemon trainers that day. For the people they were going to face were a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

"So May, are you excited to be seeing Ash again?" a green haired trainer asked.

"Yeah, the last time I saw him was in the Wallace cup. I can't wait to congratulate him on his league challenge, how about you Drew?" May replied.

"Well, he seemed like a skilled trainer, but not much of a coordinator though."

"Be nice," May said, "he just managed to draw with the champion of Sinnoh, so give him some respect."

"Fine," he sighed, "but does he even know that I'm coming?"

"Ash told me to bring someone, and knowing Ash, he's probably planned some sort of tag battle.

"But I bet you that he wasn't counting on us two," Drew grinned

"If it's a tag battle he wants, it's a tag battle he'll get," she said confidently as they both continued walking towards Solaceon town.

The duo that had travelled from the Johto region were a while away from Solaceon town and it would be a few hours before they reached the day care centre, therefore Ash and Angie would have to wait a bit longer before their battle. It was in this time when a certain team were, yet again, planning to steal Pikachu.

* * *

"Wow, that breakfast was awesome Mrs Aoi," Ash praised, his stomach now bulging.

"Yeah mom, thanks," Angie added in agreement, her stomach a similar size to Ash's.

"Well thank you Ash," Angie's mother replied, "my little Angie has these cooking skills too you know."

"Seriously Angie?" Ash questioned.

"She sure does," Mrs Aoi said before Angie could say a word, "it's a pretty useful skill to have if you get m-…"

"So," Angie loudly interrupted, "what's your surprise Ash?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise would it? Just be patient."

"Your one to talk about being patient," Angie teased.

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Ash replied, now sitting forward.

"Your not exactly Mr Patient now are you?" stated Angie with a cheeky grin.

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Angie shouted.

While the argument raged, Brock and Dawn, who had been sitting quietly, managed to sneak off from the table. They, along with Angie's mother went into the next room.

"Should we stop them?" Brock asked as he looked back into the other room.

"Don't worry, they'll tire each other out soon enough," Mrs Aoi replied.

Actually, it took around ten minutes before Ash and Angie finally stopped arguing. Although, the reason why they stopped arguing was not because they were tired.

"Hey, where'd everybody go?" Angie asked as she looked around.

"I don't know," Ash answered, "but wait just a second."

The two of them paused, and as they did the sound of a balloon landing was heard.

"Did you hear that?"

"Let's go find out what it is," Ash said before they hurried off.

The trainers ran outside to find a familiar sight.

"Team Rocket," Ash shouted.

"Well if it isn't you two again, if I didn't know any better I would think you two are a couple!" Jessie shouted back at him."

At this, Angie turned bright red, hoping Ash would ignore what Jessie had said and not see her blushing. Fortunately for Angie, today was her lucky day. As a matter of fact, Ash had flinched at this; therefore he pulled down his cap slightly as he called Pikachu up.

"Sorry Team Rocket, I haven't got time for this today. Pikachu, use thunderbolt, 'kay?"

"Pika," Pikachu agreed confidently as it fired a powerful thunderbolt.

There was a huge explosion as it connected, with Team Rocket being at the centre of it.

"Hey, no fair," the three Rockets screamed as they disappeared out of sight.

"Well that's that taken care of," Ash stated as he turned toward Angie (who by this time had stopped blushing).

"Awesome," Angie congratulated him.

'_Ash and Pikachu are so powerful' _she thought, '_he's gotten so strong, yet he still said sorry before blasting them off. For once, I wish that what Jessie said was the truth.'_

Her train of thought was interrupted by Brock, Dawn and Angie's mother arriving on the scene.

"What'd we miss?" Brock asked.

"Just team Rocket again, but I didn't have time for them today," Ash explained.

"I'm guessing this is because of your surprise then, Ash?" Dawn said to Ash.

"Yeah," Ash nodded to her, "speaking of the surprise, shouldn't 'it' be arriving soon Brock?"

"Any second now Ash," Brock confirmed.

As luck should have it, when they turned to go inside, two small figures appeared on the horizon. Everyone except Ash and Brock squinted to see who it was. The others saw two young adults, chatting as they walked closer and closer.

"Who are they Ash?" Angie asked while trying to get a better look at them.

"You'll find out soon enough," Ash replied.

* * *

"May, great to see you," Ash greeted her, "and Drew, long time no see."

"Same here Ash," May responded.

"Must have been in Hoenn when we last saw each other," Drew agreed, "but who are your new friends?"

"Well this here's Angie," he said as he gestured toward her, "she's the one who lives here; and this is Dawn."

"Nice to meet you both," Drew said as he nodded to them in turn, "and Dawn, I saw you in the Wallace Cup, you're a pretty good coordinator."

"Thanks Drew, it was then that I heard from May that you're not too bad yourself."

"Not too bad?" Drew repeated while turning to May, who just giggled.

"Anyway," Ash said, "I was thinking that we could have a tag battle: you two versus me and Angie. How's that sound?"

"I'm up for it, how about you Drew?" May asked

"Sure thing, but you better be careful Ash, May and I have been travelling together in Joto so we make a pretty good team," Drew said as he warned his soon to be opponents.

"You're on, but Angie and I are a force to be reckoned with as well," Ash said with increasing excitement.

"Don't you underestimate us," Angie added with a similar tone.

"I'll be the referee for this match, is that okay with everyone?" Brock enquired.

"Right," all the participants agreed at the same time.

They all then went off for a short break before the battle to discuss plans and tactics. Although, just before they regrouped, Drew noticed that May was watching the other team with a glint in her eyes. Drew recalled his pokemon and walked over to her.

"May, I've been travelling along with you for a while now, so I know that look in your eyes, you're planning something aren't you?"

"Those two are just perfect for each other aren't they?" she said with a tone of wonder.

"You're planning to interfere, yes?" Drew asked her.

"Of course, I mean, they're made for each other," May replied

"Look," Drew sighed, "don't interfere with this one. I agree with you, they do make a nice couple, but let them handle it, it'll work better that way."

"I guess you're right," May moaned.

"Well then, let's get ready to battle," he said in an attempt to lighten her mood.

* * *

The time had come. There were two trainers on each side of the battlefield, each one ready for battle. They all had one pokeball ready to call out, for it had been decided that all trainers would use one pokemon. Brock stood at the side of the field, refereeing for the match between the two pairs of trainers.

"This will be a two-on-two tag battle between these four competitors," Brock announced, "each trainer will use one pokemon, and the first team to knock out both opposing pokemon will be declared the winner. Are all the trainers ready?"

They all nodded.

"Then let the battle begin."

In turn, each trainer sent out their pokemon.

"Go, Staraptor," Ash shouted.

"Come on out Leafeon," Angie followed.

"Absol, show them your strength," Drew called.

"Delcatty, it's time," May exclaimed.

The battle had started, and it was Ash who made the first move.

"Staraptor, use aerial ace on Delcatty," Ash ordered.

"Leafeon, use magical leaf on Absol," Angie instructed.

"Dodge it Delcatty," May told her pokemon.

"Absol, use swords dance then dodge it," Drew commanded.

The battle went on with no letup from either side. Staraptor used its strength and speed in the sky, whilst Angie kept a strong defence on the ground. The other team also fought well, with quick attacks and a sturdy defence. It was not until late into the battle when the first pokemon fell.

"Leafeon, finish Delcatty with leaf blade," Angie called out.

Leafeon jumped into the air, and used a powerful leaf blade. The attack connected before anything could be said, ending up with Delcatty being pushed forcefully into the ground, picking up a cloud of dust.

"Delcatty is unable to battle," Brock announced.

Angie was just about to celebrate when she heard a voice shout to her.

"Angie, look out for…" Ash began.

But it was too late; Drew's Absol emerged from the cloud in an instant.

"Absol, psycho cut."

The strike was too much for Leafeon to bear, it fell down to the ground, and struggled to get up.

"Leafeon, please, use helping hand on Staraptor," Angie called sadly, knowing her pokemon wouldn't last much longer.

Leafeon began to glow, emanating a beautiful light that shone brightly. The light transferred to Staraptor, but as soon as this happened, it collapsed on the ground.

"Leafeon is unable to battle."

This call from the referee meant that is was now between Ash and Drew, neither of whom were about to give in. The two pokemon faced the other on the field, both of them worn down. The two remaining trainers called their attacks at the same time.

"Absol, use night slash."

"Staraptor, use brave bird."

The two attacks collided in the middle of the field, creating a huge explosion of energy. It was from this explosion that an astounding light was released, further distorting the view of the pokemon. A few seconds later, the dust cleared to reveal who had won this battle.

"Absol is unable to battle," was the final call, "Ash and Angie are the winners."

"Good job Staraptor, come back for a rest," Ash said gratefully before turning towards Angie, "we did it Angie, we won!"

"Yeah," she agreed, "that was an awesome battle."

"Are you ready?" Ash asked her.

"Ready when you are," was the reply.

They then struck one of Ash's poses together.

"Yeah, we won the tag battle," they declared.

Drew and May just looked at each other, which was enough to get their thoughts across. After that, when Ash and Angie had just finished their pose, Ash's stomach growled loudly.

"Wow, even after a battle like that your stomach is still complaining," Angie laughed.

Her stomach then growled even louder than Ash's.

"Well it looks like your stomach feels the same way," Ash joked, "but let's rest our pokemon first, okay?"

"You're right, let's go," Angie said in agreement.

"Right," Ash said in return before going with Angie to her house.

The others just watched as the team who had just won the battle walked together on the path towards the house, which just happened to be in front of an awe-inspiring sunset.

"That was…" May began.

"I think we all know what you're going to say," Drew declared, "but I think we all agree with you anyway."

* * *

The end of the day was now nearing, and it was time for Drew and May to leave. They all said their goodbyes, and the two of them left to head back to Johto. A few minutes later, after they were out of view of the day care centre, May asked Drew a question.

"So, do you think it will work?" May asked as she looked at them moon.

"For sure," Drew confirmed, "I just know it."

The two of them walked hand in hand as they continued on their own journey to win the Johto Grand Festival.

* * *

Ash and Angie had taken care of all their pokemon, and now sat outside in the cool night air, looking up at the stars above. They thought of their day, what they had done and the fun that they had had. It was then that Ash decided to speak up.

"Did you like the battle I set up for you?"

_'F__or… me?' _Angie thought to herself_._

"It was wonderful Ash," she replied.

"That's great," he said with a smile, "by the way, thanks for that last move there, it was that move that won it for us,"

"Thanks," she answered gratefully, "although it was really your Staraptor that finished it."

"Seriously Angie, if it wasn't for your helping hand, I don't know what would've happened. Anyway, I hope you know that if you ever need me for anything, just ask, because I'll always be happy to help you out, okay?"

Angie looked away from the sky toward Ash. Their eyes met for a long time, creating an atmosphere of great friendship, or possibly more. Suddenly, they both turned away, both rather embarrassed in what had turned into an awkward moment.

"Well," Ash said in a calm voice, "it's late now, so I'll be going to be going to bed; see you tomorrow Angie."

Ash tipped his cap to her before walking to his room on what had been an exciting day for both him and Angie.


	4. Sensing a Change

It was early in the morning, and many of the residents of Solaceon town were setting up their stalls and attractions, getting ready for the annual Solaceon Festival which would take place that day. A grand battle arena was being set up for the main attraction: the battle tournament. Among the people setting up stalls were the usual three from Team Rocket. Strangely, Jessie, James and Meowth weren't up to their usual antics, but had taken a rather different approach to the day.

"So wait, we're not going to steal anything today?" Jessie asked while she was unpacking some special pokemon treats.

"Nope, we're doing this one by the book," James replied with a small smile.

"But why James, what's up with this plan, eh?" Meowth questioned.

"Well, I've noticed that every time we do things without stealing, we end up with lots of cash, and with no blast off as well! A win-win situation don't you agree?"

"I guess you're right," Jessie replied gloomily.

"So let's get to it," James declared in an upbeat way.

* * *

"Hurry up you slowpoke," Angie insisted as she waited outside impatiently for Ash.

"Just wait a few seconds; I doubt this festival's going anywhere anytime soon." Ash said in return from behind their front door.

"Well our festival only happens once a year, and I don't want to miss any of it, so get out here now," Angie ordered.

"Well we'd better get going then," he said as he came through the door, whilst putting on his cap.

It wasn't long before the two of them arrived at the festival grounds, eagerly awaiting the various attractions and rides. Although before that, there was something very important to take care of.

"Ash, you're signing up for the tournament, right?"Angie asked.

"What tournament?" he replied.

"The festival tournament silly,"

"Well how was I meant to know," said Ash to the side.

"Well, are you signing up then?" Angie repeated.

"Sure am, we're always up for a challenge, right buddy?"

"Pika pi," Pikachu agreed.

So they headed over to the registration stall, where Ash registered for the tournament with great anticipation. After this however, he remembered that Angie could also enter.

"Angie, aren't you entering too?" he enquired.

"I thought I'd give my pokemon a rest and sit this one out."

"Okay," he said in a sad tone, "I'll just have to win it for the both of us then."

Meanwhile, back at Angie's house, the rest of the group were about to leave for the festival. They had got up much later as they lacked the amount of energy that Ash and Angie had, and had therefore decided to leave late in the morning.

"So Brock, Ash and Angie should already be there right?" Dawn asked Brock.

"They should be there, those two sure can move when something interesting comes up," Brock commented.

"Those two are like peas in a pod," Dawn thought aloud.

"It is rather strange," Brock said curiously, "it usually isn't a long time before Ash moves on from a place, but it seems that he's not thinking about leaving here anytime soon."

"I wonder why," Dawn said whilst trying to figure out why.

"Yes, I wonder," Brock agreed with a small grin, "but I heard something quite interesting from Nurse Joy when I visited her yesterday.

"What is it?"

"Apparently, Anabel from the Hoenn Battle Frontier's Battle Tower has come to Sinnoh and is competing in today's tournament during the festival."

"Really? Well I've never heard of her," said Dawn.

"Well Ash knows her, and he had some problems countering her strategies last time they battled. Ash has probably entered the tournament, so if they meet in battle it should be good to watch," Brock told Dawn.

"Looks like we'll just have to wait and see," Dawn confirmed before they headed in the direction of the festival.

* * *

"Ash," Angie looked around, "where'd you go?"

"Over here," called Ash while stuffing himself full of food, "you've got to try this stuff, it's amazing."

Angie headed over towards where Ash had decided to stop and eat. The pair of them had managed to eat as much food in the morning as it would take a normal person to eat in a few years. Ash had decided that instead of getting ready for this tournament, he would try to enjoy himself as much as he could, which meant eating to his heart's content. Although, just before they proceeded to devour yet more snacks, Ash unexpectedly met an old friend of his.

"Ash, is that you," said a voice from behind Ash.

"Huh?" he turned around, "Anabel?"

"That's right, it's good to see you again Ash," Anabel replied.

"Same here, but why are you in Sinnoh?"

"Well, I decided that I wanted to train a bit and decided that coming here would be a good place to do it," she explained.

"That's great," Ash said in return.

'_Ash, I sense that you're as good of a person as you were last time. Even after so long, I am glad that you've managed to keep your kind ways. The thing is, I sense something different in you this time, you seem to be stronger through your experiences, but there's something else there…' _Anabel thought.

It was then that Angie arrived at Ash's side, after she had eaten most of the food at the previous stall.

"So who's this," Anabel asked.

"This is my friend Angie, we met a while back in a summer academy, and she lives here in Solaceon town," he answered.

"Nice to meet you," Anabel said,

"Good to meet you too," Angie said back to her.

Anabel glanced into Angie's eyes.

'_Hmm,' _Anabel thought_, 'her attitude and outlook seem very similar to Ash's. I know that she must be a good friend of his, but I wonder if it means anything more…'_

"So," Ash said to break the silence, "are you entering the tournament Anabel?"

"Yes, and I'll be the winning it you know," Anabel replied confidently.

"You'll have to get past me first," Ash told her.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

It was now midday, and Brock and Dawn had arrived at the festival. At this moment in time, they were with Ash and Angie while who kept on devouring everything in sight. The problem was that they were now nearing Team Rocket's stall, and this was not good news. When James saw them approaching, he started to panic.

"Oh dear, the twerps are coming!"

"We'll be fine," Jessie assured him, "those twerps wouldn't recognise us if we just put on some sunglasses."

"I hope you're right," James said nervously.

Ash and Angie approached the stall, eyeing the goods available.

"How can I help you?" James asked nervously.

"Um, what do you have?" Angie asked in return.

"It's your lucky day," Jessie chirped, "because today, we can give you twe… I mean, customers, the most tasty pokemon food ever!"

"Really?" Ash said sceptically, "and anyway, haven't I seen you before?"

"NO, no you _definitely_ have never seen us before, anyway, maybe a free sample would convince you, yes?"

Jessie handed over a small amount of the food to pikachu, who ate it. A few seconds later, Pikachu gave his verdict.

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu exclaimed with delight.

"Looks like you weren't lying," Ash admitted.

Ash and company purchased the snacks and left, leaving a very flustered James.

"Phew, thank goodness that's over." James sighed

"I told you that we'd be fine," Jessie said.

* * *

The tournament started in the early afternoon. All the trainers who had entered gathered for their matches, as well as their shot at first place. Among these people were: the residents of Solaceon city, those who happened to be passing though, Anabel and Ash. It was set to be an exciting tournament full of intense battles. It had been decided by the organisers that all matches, except from the last, would consist of one pokemon each, with the finals having three pokemon per trainer.

Then, the tournament began. The festival was now alive with the sound of many battles taking place. People gathered to watch the battles take place, seeing all that the participants had to offer. After each round, the battles became fiercer, stronger and much more exciting.

Angie watched Ash from the sidelines whilst cheering him on. She saw him win battle after battle with his pokemon that he had been with for so long now. She also noticed his winning attitude: how he never gave up or gave in.

It reminded her of why she liked him so much.

After the afternoon had passed, the two competitors for the finals were confirmed. Unsurprisingly, it would be a match between Ash and Anabel, who had dominated the whole event. Everyone gathered as the event was about to start. Silence fell upon the crowd when the announcer got onto the stage.

"Ladies, gentlemen and children of Solaceon," he announced, "we have reached the final battle for today."

The crowd cheered.

"The battle will be between two young travellers, both of whom will use three pokemon. The battle will end when all three of a trainer's pokemon are unable to battle. Is that clear?" asked the referee.

Ash and Anabel nodded.

"Then will both trainers please send out your first pokemon."

"Go, Torterra!" Ash called.

"Espeon, my friend, come on out!"

"Anabel will have the first attack," the referee stated.

"Well I guess it is ladies first," Ash remarked.

"So let the battle begin!"

At this, the battle started. Anabel gave the first attack.

"Espeon, quick attack, now!"

"Torterra, brace yourself," Ash said.

At the side of the stage, Brock and Dawn were discussing the match.

"This should make for a good battle," mentioned Dawn.

"Right, with the huge difference in speed it'll be a struggle for Ash," Brock explained.

Brock was right; it was an extreme struggle for Ash. Torterra just couldn't hit Espeon, and kept on getting pounded by psychic and iron tail. The attacks kept coming, wearing down Torterra until it was on the brink of collapse. It wasn't long before Torterra reached its limit.

"Espeon, let's finish this with psychic," said Anabel.

"Torterra, try and block it with rock climb."

But it was too late. Torterra's body was surrounded by a blue light; it was lifted up and then thrown down onto the floor. Torterra lay there, motionless.

"Torterra is unable to battle," the referee announced.

Ash stepped back a little before calling back Torterra.

"Torterra, you did a good job. Pikachu, do you think you can show her some real speed?" Ash asked.

Pikachu nodded confidently and jumped onto the field.

"So you're using Pikachu," Anabel said, "this time, let's see if you can defeat Espeon without breaking any lights."

"We've become a lot stronger since then," replied Ash.

Pikachu provided a much bigger challenge for Espeon. The two pokemon moved swiftly around, rarely hitting the other. For a while, it seemed as though neither of them would ever faint and that a conclusion wouldn't be reached. Fortunately, after one or two traded hits, one attack spelled the end for Espeon.

"Pikachu, use volt tackle,"

"Try to stop it with Psychic,"

But Anabel's call came too late. Pikachu had already gathered speed, meaning that the usual blue light from psychic was destroyed and Espeon was struck by the full force of volt tackle. Espeon fell down onto the ground, too tired to continue. Anabel recalled Espeon and then sent out her next pokemon.

"Metagross, I need your help."

"We can do this Pikachu," said Ash, "Let's try a thunderbolt first."

"Metagross, iron defence," Anabel said quickly.

The thunderbolt flew threateningly towards Metagross, but bounced right off in a different direction. The reflected bolt hurtled into over the crowd and into three very unfortunate people.

"Oh come on," Jessie screamed as the three from team rocket went flying off into the distance.

Back at the stage, Ash and Pikachu were trying their hardest to take down Metagross, but to no avail. Metagross relentlessly hit pikachu with meteor mash and psychic. Soon, Pikachu was on its last legs.

"Metagross, end this with hyper beam," the Salon Maiden said.

Pikachu just stood there, unable to move out the way due to being too tired. Hyper beam its target, throwing up a cloud of smoke while doing so. Ash knew that it was too much for Pikachu to take and after the dust had settled, picked up an exhausted Pikachu.

"You did well Pikachu," he said kindly.

While Ash picked up Pikachu, Dawn asked Brock a question:

"Brock, do you think Ash can still win this?"

"Well," Brock replied, "he now has to take down two pokemon with only one. Ash is in a pretty dire situation now."

Ash knew this all too well. He was looking down at Pikachu in a gloomy manner, obviously downhearted at this turn of events. Although while he was still like this, he heard a certain voice from the crowd; it was Angie.

"Ash," she shouted, "you can still win, don't give up now! Keep fighting for both of us!"

Ash first looked up and then straight at Angie. After a few seconds, he straightened his cap, stood back up straight again and now he had a look of determination in his eyes.

"Right, we can still win this," he said with a new found confidence, "come out and help me win this Garchomp."

From the other end of the stage, Anabel had watched what had just happened. What she saw helped her to understand what had eluded her before.

'_It all makes sense now,' _she thought_, 'Those two are more than just friends. They share their strength, helping each other in ways more then any friends could. Their feelings affect the other's and the bond between them is unbreakable. I've learned this through what I just saw; one cheer from a special person can make all the difference in the toughest of times, and that encouragement from Angie just now gave Ash a second wind. I guess that means I've still got this battle to win then. I wish you two the best of luck, but I'm still going to win this battle no matter what'_

The final part of the battle had started. Ash and his Garchomp were a tough force, a force which Anabel was about to be on the receiving end of.

"Garchomp, use dig," called Ash

Garchomp jumped into the air before diving into the ground. Metagross stayed still while trying to sense where Garchomp was, but before it could, Garchomp came out of the ground to score a direct hit into Metagross. More successful hits followed, with Metagross unable to keep up. After a surprisingly short battle, Metagross was defeated by a powerful fire fang.

'_I know that part of a pokemon's power comes from its trainer, but this is so overwhelming. There's no doubt about anything now,' _thought Anabel.

"Alakazam my friend, turn this around." Anabel said.

The final pokemon were out, and the battle continued. The two trainers and the two pokemon fought hard. Neither side would stop fighting, and neither side showed signs of defeat. Finally, after an extreme battle, the final hit was made. It was Garchomp who had triumphed and brought victory to Ash.

* * *

As the day was ending, Anabel had decided to leave Solaceon and keep travelling. The group of trainers decided to meet in front of Angie's house to say their goodbyes. Also, the newly appointed winner of the tournament was joined by Angie who also wished to say her farewells to her new friend.

"Goodbye Anabel," said Ash.

"Nice to have met you," Angie added.

"It's been great to see you all," Anabel said in return.

As Anabel turned and walked off underneath the night sky, she thought about the two she had just left behind.

'_When I came here, I would have never expected any of today's events to happen. Although, I guess with Ash you can never know what will happen. So, this most likely means I'll no longer have a chance with him, but it doesn't matter. I think that the feelings I sensed in Ash will bring him far with Angie. It's rare to sense true love between people, no matter how apparent it may be.'_


	5. A Glimpse of Hope

"Come on Ash," Angie said as she kept on running.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Ash replied whilst in pursuit, "but why won't you tell me where we're going?"

"It's a surprise," she explained.

"Well maybe if we slow down we'll enjoy the surprise more when we reach it," said Ash who was panting slightly.

"Just keep on running."

And so, Ash and Angie kept running through a forest towards the 'surprise' that Angie was so very keen to get to. It had now been quite a few days since Ash had arrived in Solaceon, which meant that he was now used to the cool breeze in the early daylight. As he ran, he felt the wind rush past him and he also noticed Angie's hair being blown about by the wind.

Suddenly, Ash's hat was blown off his head and fell onto the ground behind him.

"Wait a second Angie," Ash called, "my hat fell off."

"You and that silly hat," Angie sighed.

The two of them stopped and turned around so that Ash could get his hat. Unfortunately, as they turned around they got a rather unpleasant shock.

"Team Rocket," said Ash as he put his cap on his head

"Well if it isn't you two yet again, what are you doing all the way out here, together no less? You really should stop appearing together or people may start thinking that you're a married couple," Jessie stated innocently from their balloon.

Angie squeezed her eyes shut. '_Jessie, please just be quiet,'_ she thought. Her embarrassment was beyond measure, but to her surprise Ash just ignored Jessie altogether.

"Team Rocket, I'm guessing that you're up to no good again today," Ash said coldly.

"But we hadn't even thought of a plan for today yet," James protested.

"Yeah right," Angie shouted aggressively, "you crooks never do any good. You're just cold hearted people who go round stealing or doing bad things to good people. It's those like you that we could live without. If you didn't exist everyone would be happier and nobody would have to put up with you and your annoying motto."

"Well calm down miss fussy boots, we happen to take a lot of pride in our motto, tell her James, James?"

Jessie turned to see James staring blankly without movement.

"Well, were you planning anything today?" asked Ash.

"As a matter of a fact we were," Jessie remarked out of spite.

"Pikachu, let's end this before it begins, use thunderbolt,"

The thunderbolt scored a direct hit with the balloon. As always, Jessie Meowth, and a now silent James started flying into the sky.

"We're blasting off ag… hey James, why aren't you joining in?" said Jessie before ending up out of earshot.

Now that they were alone, Ash positioned his hat on his head and turned to Angie.

"Angie, you were kind of a little harsh on Team Rocket there," Ash told her.

"Well they, they deserved it, didn't they?"

"It seemed like you stunned James into silence with your speech."

"But James is part of Team Rocket, a heartless organisation," Angie argued.

"That's true, but there are some things you should know about James,"

Ash sat down on the ground next to a tree under the morning sun and invited Angie to sit down next to him. Once they were both sat down Ash started to explain James' story. He told of the riches that were left behind, of James' many summer houses that he owned and of Growlie, his best friend as a child. Finally, Ash talked to Angie about Jessiebelle, the evil arranged fiancé.

"Wow," Angie said quietly, "James has led quite a rough life."

"I know," agreed Ash, "that's why I'm sometimes not so sure that he's a bad person at all."

"I guess I was a bit mean to him back there," Angie admitted, "but it was just that today I was going to tell you… well I thought that I would…"

"Yes?"

"Actually, let's go home, I don't think the time's right anymore,"

"Sure, I've learned through battling that timing is crucial,"

'_You really are oblivious Ash,'_ Angie thought, _'but I guess that spot by the lake will have to wait for another time.'_

Therefore, the two of them got up and headed back towards her house. Although when they were halfway back home, Ash stopped for a second.

"Um, Angie, just hold still for a second, kay?"

Ash then took off his hat and placed it on Angie's head.

"There. You see I kinda saw your hair, and it was moving about, and, so, um, yeah," Ash explained sheepishly.

"Ash, thanks," Angie replied.

They continued walking along, but with Angie having a different perspective to the one she had had before. She had started the day with one goal in mind, but had achieved and learned so much more than she had aimed for. For that spot by the lake wasn't where they ended up, but fate had decided that they would get there another day and instead would have an altered experience today.

* * *

Jessie, James and Meowth landed with a crash in the middle of a forest. Jessie and Meowth go up and dusted themselves off, but James just lay on the ground.

"Humph, how rude of those two, not even letting us bring out our pokemon or say our motto," Jessie stated angrily.

"That girl twerp seemed awful touchy today too," Meowth added.

There was a silence where James would have normally commented.

"James?" Jessie looked down, "James! What's wrong with you? Snap out of it and stand up."

James just continued to stare vacantly at the clouds above, apparently deaf to his companion's words.

"Well you're gonna have to say something sometime," Meowth told him.

"Would the world really be better if I didn't exist?" James finally murmured.

"Finally you're speaking," Jessie sighed, "but don't listen to that girl, what does she know anyway?"

"But what if she was right about what she said? What if we are just cold-hearted criminals?"

"Look, you are who you choose to be, and nobody has the right to judge you, especially someone who hasn't even met you that many times," Jessie assured him.

"Even so, I don't want to be known as just 'one of the evil Team Rocket'," James replied.

"So whaddya want to do?" Meowth asked him.

James looked up as he thought of a plan.

Meanwhile, Ash and Angie had finished their journey back and were deciding what to do. The entire morning had passed and neither of them knew what to do that day. Fortunately, Ash soon came up with an idea.

"Angie, I know what we're gonna do today," Ash exclaimed happily.

"Really?" asked Angie.

"Well I thought that maybe we could just stay at your house and relax today, you know, to get our energy back from the last few days."

"That's sounds great."

Actually, it wasn't the relaxing part that Angie thought sounded great, but the fact that she would spend some time just being with Ash without him being distracted by anything.

"So Angie, let's head inside, shall we?"

It was then that there was a small rustle in the bushes behind them. Ash quickly turned around to see an all too familiar sight, Team Rocket.

"What do you want now?" Ash said sarcastically.

"Wait, please, we're not here for any trouble," James said sincerely, "look, I've been thinking, and maybe what you said about me was partly true."

"Actually, I want to say that I'm sorry for what I said to you before, I was just a bit hasty," Angie interrupted.

"Thank you, but it doesn't matter now, I've made up my mind. I've decided to help you out for the day, is that alright with you?"

"You know that you can't just be good for the day and be a better person, right?" questioned Ash.

"I'm aware of that," James said in return, "but I have my reasons."

Ash and Angie turned around and whispered to each other.

"Ash, do you really think this isn't a trap?"

"You may think I sound crazy right now, but I trust James, well, to a point at least."

They turned to face Team Rocket again to confirm their choice.

"We agree to this, but don't pull anything funny," Angie told them.

"You have my word as a gentleman."

* * *

"So, that's the full story of Jessiebelle huh?"

"Yes, and unfortunately it's all true," James admitted.

As James was walking down the streets with her, Angie began to realise that what Ash said couldn't have been truer. She now knew of the rich but rough childhood that he had had, and how he left all of it behind for his new life in Team Rocket. Also, James had been so helpful to them that Angie couldn't help but change her opinion.

"Well, it seems as if the day will end soon and it'll be back to Team Rocket for me," noted James.

"You don't have to go back," Angie reminded him, almost wishing that he wouldn't.

"But Team Rocket was what allowed me to be free, and gave me a place to belong."

"James, you can belong with us."

Angie's comment brought silence among the three of them. Although James had watched these trainers for such a long time, he had never thought of becoming one himself. The way of a noble trainer had always seemed out of reach to him. Now he was being offered a new journey, another chance to be on the 'good' side.

"I'll consider it," was James' answer.

The day that turned out to be completely different to how anyone had planned was now starting to end. The two groups had decided to meet where they first met that day, out in the forest. In a way, Angie and Ash were sad to have to become enemies yet again with the person they had just become friends with.

"So, I guess this is it," James said sadly.

"Just remember that our offer is always there, okay?" Ash told him.

"I will."

Then both teams parted ways and went back to where they were going to sleep. That day, everyone had learned that things will rarely go completely as planned, but that is not a bad thing. You have to trust that destiny will show you a new, maybe better path through the day. In fact, it was destiny that had brought everyone to this scene, and what was destined to happen in the future would rather surprise those that it involved.


	6. Caught in a Memory

"Okay mom, we'll be back in a while," called Angie as she left her house yet again.

Ash and Angie left as usual. Ash was now starting to get used to his surroundings in this place after being there for so long, and as they approached the back of the day-care centre, they stopped to look at what was there. It seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary; the green grass swayed back and forth amidst the mid-morning breeze whilst not much else stirred. They walked further away from the house, passing by the strong smell of where they usually stored the food. They were right by the boundaries of the day-care centre when they came across a wild pokemon that stopped and looked at the two people standing before it.

"What pokemon's that?" Angie asked.

"I think it's a Gardevoir, but I'm not sure," Ash replied with an unsure tone.

He deftly took his pokedex out of his pocket and proceeded to flip it open. It scanned the pokemon to reveal that it was _'Gardevoir, the embrace pokemon. Gardevoir will try to guard its trusted trainer with its life and has the ability to see into the future. '_

"It's pretty rare to see a wild Gardevoir," Ash commented.

"I wonder what she's here for,"

"How do you know that it's a she?"

Angie turned to the pokemon, "Are you a girl?"

After closing its eyes the Gardevoir nodded slightly. After this however, the Gardevoir resumed looking into Ash and Angie's eyes as if it could see into their minds. The unrelenting glare almost caused the trainers to go into a trance before Ash questioned Gardevoir's reasons for its own presence.

"What are you doing here?"

Instead of replying, Gardevoir simply did nothing. This confused Ash and Angie even more, who were really intrigued by the pokemon's appearance. After a few more moments of silence, Gardevoir turned to Angie. Its eyes then glowed with an intense pink hue, freezing Angie in her place.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Ash asked intently now.

This was to no avail however, as Angie seemed to be falling asleep due to a hypnosis from Gardevoir. In seconds, the young lady's body became limp, almost falling to the ground. Ash swiftly caught her underneath her arms from behind before turning to face the Gardevoir again; the last mistake he would make before he began to fall to the same move as Angie.

"But… Why?" were his last words before toppling over. He hit the ground with a light thud. Ash lay there asleep in the morning sun; Angie was lying on top of him whilst still in his arms. The fall had left them both motionless on the ground but the Gardevoir still remained there.

* * *

When Ash regained consciousness, he swiftly got to his feet before checking around him. He turned to see Angie still lying on the ground, breathing lightly. He then sat down and waited, watching her sleep and not noticing the world around him, just looking at Angie resting peacefully before him. It was a while before she finally got up. She slowly lifted her head and looked around before tuning to Ash.

"Where are we?" she asked wearily.

"I really don't know," Ash replied nervously.

"So why is everything in black and white?"

This was a legitimate question. Apart from themselves, nothing had any colour except from various shades of grey. They seemed to be in a small town or village, near a small house. For some reason, Ash found this house extremely familiar.

"I'm sure I know this place, but from where?"

He was interrupted by the voice of a young boy. The call came from the house as the door slowly opened. Out came a small boy with messy black hair, wearing a white t-shirt and some blue shorts. He ran to the front of his house with a spring in his step. Suddenly something in Ash's mind clicked before he lightly placed his hand on his face.

"Of course I know this place, it's my house!"

"So this is where you live huh?" Angie mused, "but that still doesn't explain why everything is in black and white. Also, who is that little boy?"

"I think," Ash hesitated a little, "that that's me!"

The little boy had made his way to a patch of tall grass. He looked around until he saw what he was searching for. He approached a small Pidgey and had started to play with it, his love for pokemon obviously remnant from his childhood.

"So, when you were younger you still loved pokemon." Angie wondered aloud, "and even then you were cute." Angie stopped moving as she had realised what she had said.

"Huh?" Ash said as apparently he hadn't heard her, "what was that?"

"Nothing… nothing," she repeated with a sigh of relief.

Ash continued to look round. The boy had gone back inside now which left the two of them alone in the greyscale world. Time seemed to slow down as Ash and Angie pondered what could be going on. After what seemed like a while, Ash came up with an idea.

"Hey Angie, do you think that it we might be in the past?"

"Well, that would make sense since we saw you as a little boy," Angie replied, "but why would we be in the past? The last thing that I remember was meeting that strange Gardevoir."

"I was thinking the same thing, but I can't work it out either,"

Angie turned to the clear sky in hope of answers. The clouds just kept on floating by until suddenly she spun round to face Ash.

"Maybe it was that Gardevoir that put us here. It could show us these things through telepathy! It is a psychic pokemon after all," Angie stated.

"Angie, you're a genius!" exclaimed Ash, making Angie blush slightly, "but… why would Gardevoir show this to us? All we know now is that the visions we see are real."

Straight after these words were said, the world for the two trainers started to fade. Their vision blurred as they again lost consciousness. Little did they know that in the real world, they still lay on the ground with Gardevoir towering above them, using its powers to show them the images that it desired to.

* * *

The young trainers awoke at the same time. They slowly got up as they tried to focus their eyes. For a few seconds, they seemed to be nowhere, only darkness surrounding them. However, a light started appearing which started to reveal the background.

"Where are we now?" Angie whispered to Ash.

"I don't know, I still can't see mu…" he began to say before they heard a terrifying roar. The sound echoed around them, forcing them to listen to its fearful noise. Strangely, Ash knew this sound from somewhere.

"At least we know that we can hear," Angie said apprehensively.

The level of light gradually grew higher. Soon they were able to see that they were in a type of cave. On all sides except the front there was rock, rock that had not been touched by anyone or anything for a long time. The opening of the cave was straight ahead of them, but all they could see outside of the cave was a dark, mysterious space. Suddenly, a huge black shadow flew past at incredible speed. From what the two of them could make out, it was a huge creature with a large body and wings.

"That thing outside, it's huge," Ash noted.

"Let's think about this, the last time we woke up was in a past memory of yours. So, do you remember this cave?" Angie questioned.

"I don't think so, the outside and the shadow seem vaguely familiar but I've definitely never been in this spot before."

This left the two trainers confused. For a few seconds, nobody knew what to do. Fortunately, Ash had a suggestion.

"Maybe this is the future. The pokedex said it could see into the future, so it would make sense for this vision to be of an event yet to happen."

"Hmm, I guess so," she muttered, "but that wouldn't explain why she's showing us the future. Could it be a warning or something?"

"Well I definitely wouldn't want to be here. Even if I did get here I'd be very careful because I'm getting a bad feeling from this place," Ash informed her.

Right at that moment, the lights began to fade again. Ash and Angie both struggled to keep awake, eventually succumbing to the inevitable sleep that awaited them.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon and all was calm at the Day Care centre. Many Starly flew across the clear blue sky as most people went about their normal routine. The usual faint smell of pokemon food floated in the air. Inside Angie's house, Ash opened his eyes to this scene, staring at it through a window. He quickly realised that he was in a bed, lying down underneath several covers. He twisted around to see that in a bed on the opposite side of the room, Angie lay there sleeping quietly. Slowly, he closed his eyes and fell asleep again.

Sometime later, the young pokemon trainer awoke once more, this time with more company. As he sat upright, he recognised his friends with Angie's parents who turned to him as he awoke.

"Well, it's about time you woke up," Angie's mother told Ash.

Something stirred in the other bed now. Angie sleepily rose from her bed to see all the people crowded in her room.

"So you decided to join us to, huh?" Mrs. Aoi said calmly.

"What… what happened?" the still sleepy Angie asked.

"We were hoping you would tell us that," her father answered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Angie asked in return, puzzled by her father's answer.

The two parents looked at each other and nodded before her mother spoke.

"Let's just say that I was rather… surprised, to find my daughter outside, laying on top of Ash here."

Everyone stifled a laugh at this profound choice of words. Everyone, except for Ash and Angie of course. Angie went one of the deepest shades of red that there are, deeply embarrassed and almost hiding underneath her covers. When Ash had realised what had happened, he too began to blush, his face almost the same shade of red as his hat. However, after a few seconds he regained his composure and decided to explain all that had happened; not only to clear up the situation, but also to neutralise the awkward circumstance that had arisen and caused two people in that room great embarrassment.

"I can explain everything," Ash told them.

"Well please start then," Angie's father said.

"So, it all began after we left…" Ash began to say. He explained the whole story of what had happened. He spoke of how the Gardevoir used hypnosis on Angie, who was caught be Ash who also fell to the pokemon. Then, he recapped the visions they were shown by the mystifying Gardevoir, and how they first saw a vision from Ash's past, and then a strange place they hadn't been to yet.

"…And then I woke up here. So you see, it was a mysterious pokemon that left us like that. I'm extremely sorry for what you found," Ash said solemnly, lowering his head.

"Ash. Thank you." Angie's mother replied causing Ash to look up again, "know that we never suspected you of anything, and that we're grateful that you stood by our daughter and didn't flee when she was put to sleep."

"I'd never leave her if she's in trouble, I would even give my life to save her" Ash confirmed.

Angie, who had been watching the whole thing, stopped. Ash's last sentence had meant more to her than anything anyone had ever said to her. A final straight promise of what he had said before. A promise that he would never leave her side when in danger, and even sacrifice his own life for hers. This promise, Ash would never break.

* * *

The evening had now arrived and the light was fading. All embarrassment had dissipated and Ash and Angie had decided to sit down on the grass just behind the house. The stars shone gently above them as the wind rustled their hair. They both looked up at the sky, admiring its beauty.

"Why?" Angie asked whilst still looking upwards.

Ash thought for a second before understood what she meant, "I think it was a warning. Gardevoir have always tried to protect humans, and I think this one tried to show us the future. From what I saw, I think this future isn't good."

"Our future…"

"Yes, a future that will surely happen. It's just a matter of time now, and when that time arrives, I'll be ready."

"But…" Angie whispered with a slight tone of fear.

"At that time, I _will_ protect you."


	7. The Journey Home

The day had finally come when Dawn was to return home. She was very excited to return to Twinleaf town and therefore the group of them had decided to make an early start on their journey. Angie had also decided to tag along, not having anything else to do anyway (or so she said) and so Ash had made all the arrangements for the journey. Therefore, when Angie, Brock and Dawn were gathered outside ready to leave, Dawn wondered why Ash wasn't there.

"I wonder where he could be?" Dawn mused.

"He told me he had to go to the pokemon centre but left before telling me why." Brock informed them.

"Typical," Angie said placing her hands on her hips.

"I wouldn't worry; Ash is usually a reliable person,"

As if on cue, Ash appeared at the end of the road. He was running with a huge smile on his face and a pokeball in his hand. When he reached his companions he decided to explain himself.

"Sorry guys, I just had to go to the pokemon centre to pick up this guy here," he motioned to the pokeball.

"Why did you need to do that?" Dawn asked.

"Because he's crucial to my plan of your journey home."

"And what is this plan?" Angie questioned him.

"Today, we're going to be flying across Sinnoh!" Ash told his friends as he tossed his pokeball in front of him. A moment later, everyone could see the magnificent Charizard that had been released. The impressive pokemon's tail flame burned strongly as he bowed its head to acknowledge Ash's friends. However, when he finally turned to Ash he couldn't help but fire a huge flamethrower at his first trainer due to it being his standard greeting for Ash. This left Ash on the floor and rather charred, "Hi Charizard… You've really... gotten a lot… stronger," Ash managed to say before falling flat on the ground.

"Isn't it a bit strange for a pokemon to attack its trainer?" Angie whispered to Brock.

"With Ash's Charizard, it would be strange if it didn't! It's always done that and so its flamethrower has almost become a 'hello' to him."

Ash got off the ground, dusted himself off and repositioned his cap on his head, "So how does flying sound to everyone?"

Angie stepped forward hesitantly, "Um… I've never flown before, are you sure it's safe?"

"Of course I'm sure, Charizard here is one of the most reliable pokemon I know, and besides, I'll be riding him with you while Dawn and Brock will be on Staraptor," Ash replied proudly whilst bringing out his bird pokemon.

"Okay then, I guess you're right," Angie agreed, looking at Charizard's sturdy posture.

Therefore, they all went to the pokemon that they would be flying with. Charizard lowered his head to let his passengers on, with Ash sitting at the front and Angie behind him. Likewise, the other two joined Staraptor and were soon ready to start their journey home. The clear skies beckoned them as they awaited each other's signal.

"Angie, Charizard, are you ready?" Ash turned to his passenger who nodded, and then Charizard gave an affirmative growl. He then looked at Brock, who gave a thumbs up which he returned. "Alright then, let's go!"

Charizard took off and soared into the sky, as did Staraptor. They went higher and higher, causing the first time flyer Angie to cling onto Ash. Noticing this, he turned his head and smiled.

"Relax, you're perfectly safe."

Angie blushed and quickly took her hands away from his body, then scratched her head "…sorry…"

They continued to climb higher above the fields of Sinnoh, reaching the clouds after a short amount of time. The two pokemon glided gracefully beside one another, feeling the wind underneath their wings. After a while, they levelled out and started to fly straight forward. It seemed as if this experience had eliminated Angie's initial fear of flight; she now had a huge grin on her face as the high altitude wind swept past.

"I love flying!" Angie declared.

"Great isn't it?" her pilot agreed, "But wait until you see the view from above the clouds." Ash took Charizard up further into the sky. The clouds beneath them got further and further away until suddenly, they reached a clear patch of sky. The view from here was breathtaking, actually causing Angie to be at a loss for words. The small towns and cities could be seen far below as well as the jagged mountaintops of Mount Coronet. Both trainers and pokemon enjoyed beautiful morning view for a few more minutes before returning lower down where it was easier to fly.

They then cruised for a long time while they neared Twinleaf town, idly chatting as they went along. In fact, most of the journey from this point on was rather uneventful. The reason for this was that Team Rocket had decided not to try and pursue two expert flying pokemon in a measly balloon. This meant that Ash and his friends could enjoy this day unhindered as they soared through the clouds. After another hour or so of nothing of particular interest happening, they arrived at the quaint village of Twinleaf.

Charizard and Staraptor went lower until they were barely clearing the rooftops. They passed a few buildings that were familiar to Dawn as they flew over the place where she grew up. Even though it had only been just over a year since she set off on her journey, her hometown brought back memories of her childhood. The sight of the old field where she would used to play with her friends evoked a strong feeling of nostalgia.

"I think I see it," Ash called out.

Dawn looked out in front, "That's it," she confirmed as her home came into view.

They landed right outside of her house, finally regaining contact with the ground after what seemed like a life time (although not to say a certain someone didn't enjoy being close to Ash for a long time.) Everyone stretched out their limbs as the pokemon were recalled. However, their arrival hadn't gone completely unnoticed; just as Dawn was about to knock on the door it was opened by her mother. Johanna greeted her daughter with a warm smile before embracing her.

"Welcome home darling, I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too mom."

"Come through to the sitting room dear, there are people waiting for you," Johanna looked to the others, "Please come in as well, we've been waiting for you all."

They all followed Dawn's mother into her house and when they reached the sitting room they found two guests sitting there.

"Kenny? Barry?"

"Hi Dawn," Kenny replied, "we heard that you were coming back so we thought we'd stop by here to welcome you back,"

"Thanks Kenny, and also thanks for not calling me De-De," Dawn said before sitting down.

"Oh right! Sorry about that De-De," Kenny said wryly, causing a look of anger to appear on Dawn's face, much to everyone's amusement.

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting someone here? Like the best trainer you know?" Barry asked.

"Well when I first met you didn't even remember who I was, but anyway…"

"Wait a minute," Ash interrupted, "I'm the best trainer she knows."

"Yeah? I could beat you any day!" Barry stood up.

"Well why didn't you beat me in the league then?" Ash retorted.

"You just got lucky!"

"Then how about another battle?"

The argument between the two hot-headed trainers grew fiercer, leaving the other five of them standing there while the argument ensued.

"Here we go again," Angie muttered.

Line Break

It was becoming dusk when it was time to leave Dawn behind, the day was ending and they had to return home. Everyone had enjoyed their time together so it was hard for them all to part, but time does not wait, even for our heroes.

"Goodbye Dawn; it was nice to have met you," Angie called as she clambered onto Charizard.

"See you again one day," Ash added.

"Thanks guys, I wish you the best of luck in the future. Farewell," Dawn replied with sadness very clear in her voice, "We'll meet again one day."

And so, Charizard and Staraptor took off again, this time heading back to Solaceon town. They all called their goodbyes as they left until they were finally out of earshot. It wasn't long before they settled back into flying. However, Ash had something else planned before the day could end.

"Brock," Ash flew over to Brock, "do you think you can go on ahead? I've just remembered something." Brock agreed and left with Staraptor.

"What is it?" Angie asked from behind Ash.

"There's a place I want to show you, but it's a surprise so close you eyes and wait until I tell you to open them, okay?"

Angie agreed as they changed course slightly. They could feel the cool wind of the evening rushing against them as the got closer to this 'secret' place, and after a few minutes they landed.

"Okay, you can look now,"

Angie opened her eyes, "Why… this is…" Her eyes sparkled as she observed the sight in front of her. They were on a cliff face overlooking the calm ocean. The sky glowed with a warm golden hue with the sun just appearing over the horizon. The small waves sparkled in the light of dusk whilst the faint sound of the water caressed its listener's ears. Ash took Angie's hand as he helped her down from his Charizard, also admiring the view.

"I found this place on my travels through Sinnoh," he told her quietly. He then brought her to the edge of the cliff and sat down with her there, still holding her hand. "I thought that maybe you might like to see this view."

"This whole scene is beautiful," she said, mesmerized.

"Just like you then," Ash replied subconsciously. As luck would have it Angie was so amazed at the view she didn't hear this.

"Did you say something?"

"I don't think so…" suddenly Ash's stomach grumbled, "but I think my stomach just did."

Angie laughed, "It seems even here you can't stop thinking about food, luckily for you I packed some food before we left."

"So that's why you had a rucksack! Wow, you're good."

"Thanks," she blushed slightly, "so let me just get it out…" it was then that she looked down and noticed that she and Ash were still holding hands. She quickly withdrew her hand while her blush deepened. "Sorry, I…"

"Don't apologise, it was me who forgot to let go," Ash said humbly, "I guess that I just feel comfortable around you now."

Angie didn't know what to say. Thoughts swam round in her head as she tried to grasp what Ash had just said. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"Um… you said that you had food." Ash reminded her.

"Ah… y-yes," she managed to reply.

Then, they spent a while there together. They made pleasant small talk as they ate whilst also taking in the magnificent view. They would have spent a very long time there if they weren't reminded of the passing of time by the setting sun. The night was fast approaching so they decided to leave this place.

"We better get going, it's getting late and I still need to get Charizard back home once we get there."

"Really? What's the hurry?"

"Well, Charizard has a special girl waiting for him," Ash explained.

"I see," Angie replied absently. _'So he understands the concept of love,' _she thought to herself, _'but still…'_

"Besides, after what happened with the Gardevoir, I doubt your parents would trust me staying out this late with you," Ash laughed.

"Haha… yeah…" Angie laughed weakly, trying to hide her blushing.

Angie and Ash then climbed aboard Charizard yet again and flew off into the night.


	8. Into a World of Darkness

**I apologise for the delay between chapters, but it's become hard for me to find time to keep writing. However, I will try my best to update more often and I thank you for reading this far.**** This being only part one of this tale, the next update should be much quicker than the last.**** Now, please enjoy the story.**

* * *

"I have to tell him today," Angie told herself as she drew back curtains.

The green-haired girl winced at the morning's light. It poured into her room as she walked over to her wardrobe in her pyjamas. She yawned while she opened the cupboard doors, her clock showing that it was only seven o'clock in the morning.

"He has to know how I feel. All I want is for him to realise how I see him, then I'll be happy. Why does Ash have to be so blind?"

In the time they had been together, the two of them had already had many special moments together, making her wonder why he couldn't see something that was staring him right in the face. She couldn't leave it to him to realise anymore, it was her time to act. If Ash couldn't see her feelings, she would force have to him to.

She nodded to herself as she finished changing, her mind set on what she was going to do. Today, she had planned to take Ash to the lake in the nearby forest, where she would tell him everything. Nothing would get in her way; she had planned every last detail, taking into account any possible obstacle that they could encounter. The only thing she hadn't thought of was what she was going to say, hoping that all she would have to do was talk to him with complete honesty. She knew that today, Ash would finally understand what she was feeling.

And so, Angie left her room to go find Ash, who was waiting for her outside. She was walking to the side of her house, where she had agreed to meet him, but before she turned the corner she heard Ash talking to Pikachu. Carefully, she edged her way along the wall until she could just see Ash from around the bend. He was sitting there underneath a tree, sheltering from the morning sun whilst Pikachu was sat there beside him. She noticed his usual carefree look as she silently spied on him and decided to just listen in on his conversation for while.

"I wonder what's gonna end up happening today?" Ash sighed, "Ever since I arrived here things keep on happening. I suppose it is fun though, and I do enjoy spending time with Angie as well, so I guess it's all good."

Pikachu tilted his head in response, although out of sight Angie smiled contentedly at the compliment she had just been given.

"But Pikachu, there's something else I feel when I'm with her…

Angie started to listen more intently. However, what she didn't notice was Shinx walking up behind her. The small blue electric pokemon saw its trainer and decided to say good morning. Unfortunately for Angie, this meant Shinx loudly saying its name, startling her and making a loud noise in the process. Her cover was blown.

"Shinx? Angie? Are you there?" Ash called.

"E-erm, good morning Ash," Angie replied with a weak laugh, emerging from her hiding place "nice day isn't it?"

"Yeah," he replied with a smile, "it's been a while since I've seen the sky as clear as it is now."

She looked up, "You're right! There's not a cloud in the sky."

Ash stood up and walked over to Angie, "So, you said we were going to go somewhere together today? Just the two of us?"

"Hey, don't say it like that! You're making it sound like were going on a date on something," Angie turned away as her face grew red.

"Huh? What's a date?" Ash asked.

Angie almost fell over, "You really aren't well versed in those kinds of things are you?" She sighed, "Well to answer your first question, we are going somewhere today."

"Where?"

"Well, it's a place that's quite special to me. It's a small lake not far from here that I've visited ever since I was a child. I've always made my most important decisions there, so that place is very significant to me," she explained.

Ash nodded in response, "Sounds interesting."

Pikachu and Shinx meanwhile had been talking amongst themselves during this time and had come up with a small plan of their own. Quietly, they had crept behind their respective trainers without being noticed. They lined themselves up with each other and, after a small nod, put their plan into action. Pikachu ran up behind Ash and shunted him forward, with Shinx doing the same to Angie. The trainers instantly fell towards the other, about to collide. Ash however deftly regained his composure and swiftly moved aside. Unfortunately, Angie was not so lucky and continued to fall. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, but to her surprise, no such impact came.

"Umm… Angie, open your eyes," came a voice from above her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Ash looking down at her. Then, she realised what had happened; Ash had managed to catch her mid-fall, and was now holding her off the ground. His right arm was positioned underneath her knees, his left by her neck. Held her firmly in his arms, leaving Angie feeling rather strange as she gazed into the eyes that were staring right back into her own.

'_Since when was he this strong and agile?'_ she thought to herself, _'And why do I feel so comfortable… like… this…?'_

Suddenly, a luminescent blush appeared on Angie's face.

"Can you… put me down please?" she said apprehensively.

"Are you okay? You're acting really strangely today. Normally, you would have shouted at me to put you down" Ash said as he returned Angie to her feet.

"Hey, stop acting as if you know everything about me already," she shouted in retort.

"There's the Angie I know," Ash smiled, "so shall we be going now?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

Thus the trainers left for the forest lake, and the two pokemon behind them exchanged a knowing smile. They talked about this and that on their journey through the woods whilst they walked underneath the pleasant sunshine. Various pokemon also came and greeted them, a few of them already having met Angie from her frequent trips to the lake. Eventually, they reached their destination.

They slowly stepped from the dense forest into the open clearing of the lake. Ash was immediately overwhelmed by the sight. The lake glittered with light from the sun, shining underneath the clear blue sky. There were many colourful flowers surrounding the lake that swayed gently with the wind, giving the entire area a sweet aroma.

"This place is amazing!" Ash stated.

"Yeah, I always come here to think. In fact, I even came here the day before you came back."

"Really? What were you thinking about?"

Angie sighed as she sat down on the grass by the lake, "That's what I brought to here to talk about."

Ash sat down beside her, also facing toward the other side of the lake. He could tell that Angie was now being completely serious. "I'm listening," he told her.

Angie looked out at the surface of the lake and took a deep breath. "Ash. There's been something on my mind for a long time now. You see, I've been struggling to keep this thing away from my thoughts, and I just keep thinking about it more and more." Her voice remained gentle and calm as she continued talking. "Ever since an important event a long time ago, this thing just became more important to me over time, and recently, this process sped up even further."

She then pulled her knees in close to her before she said, "It seems to me as if the time has come to confront this problem of mine."

Ash turned to see her face. Her eyes continued to stare ahead of her, her only movements from her light breathing. Her hair and clothed rustled slightly in the still silence. It seemed as if the world around them had completely stopped.

"Angie," Ash said, "I'll help you in any way I can."

Angie stayed silent for a few more seconds.

"Do you promise?"

They turned to each other, their eyes meeting. To them, everything else didn't exist. Their eyes stayed locked for a time that neither could tell. They could see the trust in the other's eyes and felt each other's warm aura. It was then that Ash replied.

"I do."

Suddenly, the wind rushed past them, creating a small whirlwind at the middle of the lake. The leaves tore through the air, an intense stream of wind ripping through the clearing with a deafening sound. The sky began to turn dark with ominous clouds appearing overhead.

Ash and Angie turned their attention to the scene.

"What? What's happening?" Angie called out.

Ash held his cap to his head as it threatened to fly away, "I'm not sure, but it looks like something's happening to the lake."

The whirlwind had now fused with part of the lake to form a vicious whirlpool. The wind continued to slash through the area around them, causing the two present to start to lose their footing. They wasted no time in calling back their pokemon.

"Angie, grab my hand!"

Angie desperately reached for Ash whilst almost being blinded by the chaos around her. Their hands managed to get a hold on each other just as the storm suddenly strengthened. They heard a huge roar from the mysterious vortex in the lake, the likes of which they had never heard before. It was then that they were swept away and tossed into the growing turmoil.

For now, they had left their old world behind.


End file.
